Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1887-12-07
Az ITALIAN EDITOR
TALKS FRANKLY ABOUT THE NEWS
PAPERS OF HIS COUNTRY.

Stupid Governmental Repressive Meas.
ures Under an Old Law-Getting Ahead
of the Authorities-News and Fiction.
A List of Journals.
The office of The Messagero, Of Rome, Is
situated in the Via del Buffalo, and here COR
respondent called by appointment the other
day upon the editor and proprietor, Sig.
Luigi Cessna, in order to receive an Italian
editors frank opinion on the newspaper press
Of his country.
"You come apropos," said Sig. CessnS;
"we have just been seized" and he smiled
cheerily, dis if an honor had just been con-
ferred. upon him and not serious loss in
fiicted. you see," be continued, "every
morning we have to deliver copy of the
paper to the procuratore del re, the censor.
In todays issue we had memorial article on
the Paris commune, simply and purely his
torical, as you can see for yourself"-and he
stealthily drew a last remaining copy from
his desk-"and at 1870 this morning the po-
lice entered, stating that the issue had been
suppressed and ordering me to yield up the
whole edition and to distribute the type in
their presence. Some papers had already
gone out, but they viii seize them at the book
stalls OF snatch them out Of your hands as
you walk along the streets. They have done
this to me many times before.
STUPID REPRESsIvE MEASURES.
"But these people are as stupid as their re-
preSsive measures! You can form 10 idea of
their imbecility. The law Of 1913 is the law
Of confiscation, under which they seize-of
1881 making 10 allowance for the improve
ments i'll machinery since then, which almost
makes newspaper printing another art. So
they order me to distribute the type, evidently
thinking that we print from the type-so
utterly ignorant are they of the business with
which they are brought into daily contact
Of course, we use Aarioni machine, as they
can see, and print from plates cast from
paper nlache mold, that has been taken from
he type. If they were to ask for our plates
Or mold, that would be saother thing; but
hey think i'll looking after the type they have
lone the business. OF course, tonight l shall
print off new edition of the suppressed
paper, and in two days time it will be dis
patched free to my friends in the provinces
-tnO doubt they will make me some little
present in return)-by which time the au-
;horities will have forgotten all about the
Incident and my views and history will have
circulated.
"As the divine attributes and achievements
and liberty of the English are too ideal-en-
tirely beyond our hope to emulate or even
approach in the present generatioIi-we as
pire only to form our model on the French
press. for the Italians have great affection
and admiration for everything French. Our
-, "a,
from France by arrangement with editors
and authors As regards kilograms, we all
subscribe to the Stefani agency by reason of
about 95 month. But it is practically in
the governments hands, and there is conse-
lueptly no independence. How could there
be, with the government exercising its power,
when anything unpalatable to it passes over
the wires, either to burke the telegram alto
gether or to delay it twenty-four hours or so,
till the message is of no danger to them and of
no use to us? The special telegraph CORE
spondence' which our papers boast rarely in.
cludes foreign dispatches, though few papers
can plume themselves on Geographic comma
nication with a Paris newspaper. But our
people are not educated up to, nor interested
in, foreign events, except SO far as directly
affects themselves.
SOME EXCELLENT PAPERS.
"Our people demand 'feuilletons; they will
have them. and the paper that wants to sue
coed must have them. We have not even the
excuse Of the French editor that i'll introducing
fiction acknowledged fiction. / mean into his
ne US sheet he is encouraging native literary
talent. regret to say that we have no such
talent at present. Our feuilletons are bought
from French editors or authors, and, whether
new or not, are paid for at the rate of geo
novel, which will run through sixty, seventy
or eighty numbers.
"rhe despotism under which we labor has
not been able to prevent the growth of some
excellent papers, as Italian papers 60. Milan,
the real literary and journalistic center of
Italy, has its sSec6lo, with its 100000 circula-
ton, a paper illustrated with portraits and
views in the same manner and by the same
process as The Pail Mall Gazette. Besides
lhiS il publishes from time to time elaborate
Illustrated supplements gratis to its subscri-
Ders. Then there IS The Pungolo, The Corriere
leila Sera 100000, and L'ltalia Q5,00U, the
asst conducted in the American style Genoa
las The Epoco (G0,00W, a democratic paper;
Naples The Piccolo, The Pungolo and several
3thers of considerable age. and Turin the
well known Gazzetta del Popolo. But it is
he same cry with them all-repression, Off
,ial and social, which affiicts them.
ain my own sphere l am trying remedy /
ny making my business cooperative affair,
giving my writers share in the profits in
addition to n salary. Not until an editor and |
lis staff can vie with minister and his cabi- !
yet in independence, riches. and popular es-
eem-even power, as is often the case in
England and sometimes in FRANCISCAN We
oApel the respect of society; and not until
We purge our statute books of injustice and
lnomaly, and educate cur masses, can the
Italian press be worthy to compete with the
,ress of northwestern Europe Foreign
letter.
Idlers in the Parks.
"Say, boss, kin you spare me few pennies
er me lodgin's!'
He sat on park bench and mouthed tho
,uery as the man addressed walked along